#editoress

It’d been three days since she’d escaped the cells beneath the Lions’ compound, and yet still the Lions had not relented in their tireless search.  She’d been warned not to seek passage out of the city until the patrols had their fill of blood.  She needed them to think she had already managed to flee beyond the borders of Durlyne, leaving the roads out of the city relatively unguarded as they expanded their search.  Simple enough in theory, but not quite so in practice.

Especially considering who was likely spearheading the search.

A sharp pang shot through her chest, some terrible amalgamation of fury and despair that left her breathless.  No, Addilyn thought, forcing that too keen agony back into the depths where it belonged, even as the burn of fresh tears made itself known.  She couldn’t afford to wallow in her misery, not now.  Not with the Lions still gnashing at her heels.

A cold, humorless laugh left her, drawing more than a few odd looks her way as she roughly wiped at her eyes.  How many had she hunted in all her years amongst their ranks?  It was no small number, of that she was sure.  Oh, how fitting an end to the Lioness’ tale, to be set upon by her fellows as if she were little more than a rat caught sniffing about the dinner table.

It wasn’t long before an old, crumbling building came into view.  The windows were cracked and shattered, and its door only just barely clung to a single hinge, ensuring that it did little in the way of providing shelter to any who might choose to reside within.  But she didn’t need shelter, only a place to hide.

It was one of the many abandoned homes along this strip—too close to Blue Boy Bridge, it seemed.  Not many wished to risk living so near the ilk that inhabited what laid beyond it, especially as of late.  But this building in particular had proven to be a much needed refuge these last few days.  The Lions of Mercy had not seen fit to venture this far from the city’s center, though she could not for the life of her discern why.  It unnerved her, to say the least, but she wasn’t one to question God’s good favor, not when she needed it most.

But still Addilyn glanced up and down the street, seeking the telltale sight of Ssaelit green and the dull sheen of standard issue plate armor.  She was not so foolish as to think that God’s favor extended beyond her own wits.  She had no doubt that Ssael’s patience would fade soon enough.

Once she was certain she hadn’t been followed, she slipped through the doorway and into the gloomy interior.  The building had long since been looted of whatever valuables might have been left by its prior occupants, leaving only that which was too large or too troublesome to carry.  A large table sat in the center of the room, simple but sturdy in its make.  The wooden surface had begun to warp and splinter, yet was otherwise intact.  It was all but useless to her, but at least it served to make the space feel less cavernous.

Addilyn moved to place her satchel upon the table, her spoils for the morning ensconced within.  She’d managed to snatch a fresh meat pie from a harried vendor as he contended with a rush of patrons.  It was probably the last decent thing she’d eat for a long while.

Ignoring the chill that seeped in through the rotten boards lining the window panes, Addilyn reached up to pull back her hood, allowing herself a moment to breathe.  A few days.  Just a few more days and they would decide that she wasn’t worth the effort.  No matter who was leading the pursuit.

She let out a final, slow breath, her spine straightening as she forced her shoulders back, resolute in her bearing.  It was as she reached inside her bag that something shot out from the shadows, the projectile missing her face by a mere hair as it embedded itself in the wall behind her.  Addilyn immediately hit the floor, a long string of curses flowing from her lips.  Never before had she so keenly felt the absence of her blade.

“You missed, maafit,” Addilyn taunted, weariness all but forgotten.  She scanned the room for her assailant, her eyes snagging on a darkened corner far from the pale, gray light spilling in through the windows.  There was a large figure crouched there, still and silent despite her scrutiny.  Another curse left her.  She was growing careless, stupid in her desperation.

The figure remained motionless, watching her, as if awaiting her next move.  Addilyn’s gaze flickered between that darkened corner and the door.  If she was quick about it, she just might be able to make it out—especially if she could manage to upend the table for cover.  It wouldn’t be much, but it’d serve her better on its side than as it was now.

A beat passed in silence, a cold sweat soaking into the collar of her coat, before she sprang to her feet, pushing the table over as she moved.  It hit the floor with a loud crash, piercing the quiet like a sudden thunderclap.  She’d made it the four strides to the door when another projectile whistled through the air, its sharpened tip slicing a thin line across her cheek before burying itself in the old and splintering wood.

Addilyn froze midstep, her eyes wide in horror—though it had nothing to do with the thin trail of blood that now oozed down the side of her face.

The projectile—it was no crossbow bolt, nor was it any common dagger.  It was a small, sleek throwing knife, forged to be a quick and precise means of taking down a distant foe.  The freshly sharpened steel shined even in the dim, accentuating its razor edge.

And she knew it just as well as she did her own blade.

“Don’t, Theron,” an all too familiar voice rumbled.  Addilyn immediately felt as if she might be sick.  “You run out that door, I send up a flare that brings every Lion in the district down upon you.”

Addilyn remained rooted where she stood, her breathing ragged as panic began to claw at her throat.  No.  No, no, no.

“Theron,” Lemuel warned, the hardened edge of an officer’s command in his voice.  She heard him take a step, the soft scrape of metal on metal filling the tense quiet as he moved.  He’d come in his armor, then.  “Don’t make me–”

“What are you doing here?” Addilyn hissed, forcing the words from her lips.

Lemuel was quiet for a moment, as if he hadn’t expected her to speak.  “I’m here to take you back,” he said simply.

He took another step, the floorboards creaking beneath his weight.  The sound snapped her from her stupor, years of training finally breaking the paralysis of shock and fatigue.  She grabbed for the knife embedded in the door as she whirled on him, brandishing it as she would have any sword.  Lemuel stood ten paces from her, his black, clawed gauntlets gleaming from beneath the dark cloak draped over his shoulders.  He held his hands out in front of him, a gesture of peace.  It was a laughable display.  She could only hope that he didn’t see how her own hand trembled.

“‘Take me back,’” she sneered, moving away from the door as he took another step toward her.  If nothing else, she wanted that table between them.  “To await my turn at the altar, it would seem.”

“I come here as a kindness.”  He spoke softly, as if coaxing a wounded animal into his snare.  “If they were to find you–”

“I know what a Lion's mercy entails.”  Fear and anger thrummed through her in equal measure, her heart beating out a rapid rhythm within her chest.  “I've meted it out often enough, sir.”

He paused mid-stride, his brow drawn in slowly mounting frustration.  “Then you know why I came here alone, rather than with a squad at my back.”

“You must redeem yourself somehow, I suppose.  I'm sure all eyes turned to you when I vanished from my cell.”

“Don't do this, Addilyn–”

“They should only know that you never once set foot in those dungeons.  Not after you left me there to await the butcher's call.”

“I didn't have a choice–”

“Said by many a coward when faced with his sins,” she spat, unable to quash the vitriol that surged forth.

Lemuel lunged at her then, his golden gaze alight with a simmering rage as he leapt over the upended table.  Addilyn made to duck out of his reach, stepping back as his beclawed hand lashed out—only to stop short as her back hit the wall.

Lemuel was upon her in an instant, pinning her in place with a hand at her throat.  The metal of his gauntlets was bitingly cold, the pointed tips digging painfully into the soft flesh as he pressed her to the wall.  Reason left her as she glared up at him, her arm raised to slash at his face with his throwing knife—but Lemuel was fast, grabbing for her wrist with his free hand as he met her eye.  As if daring her to break his hold.

“I did what was necessary!” Lemuel snarled, a righteous fury undercutting his words.  “I did my duty.”

“You betrayed me–”  She choked on the words, her throat tight with tears she would not dare shed in his presence.  The anger was so much easier than the anguish, than the heartache.  “You threw me to the wolves and never once looked back.”

“I gave you a way out.  I gave you a choice.”

“You gave me no such thing,” Addilyn shot back, relentless in her wrath.  She felt his grip on her throat tighten, outrage clearly written upon his pale features—though still she did not falter.  “You knew I would never take the Third Option.  You knew.  But with my refusal, I absolved you of whatever guilt might have plagued you as you handed me over to the Lions.  My life their last, desperate gambit to pacify the Geffies in their pursuit of Ssaelit blood.”

“We cannot afford the likes of you furthering the Gefendur agenda, Addilyn.”  Desperation began to line his features, that hardened mask he so loved to don cracking beneath the strain.  “You are a liability, and will continue to be as such so long as you draw breath.”

“Then do it,” she dared, her teeth bared.  Her neck ached, a faint wheeze sounding with each breath she took.  “You claim to have come here as a kindness.  A mercy.  Dole out that infamous Lion's mercy, then, sir.”

She brought her free hand up to wrap around his armored wrist, adding to the pressure against her throat.  His eyes widened, visibly flinching at her touch.  A brief flash of panic flickered across his face, realization dawning as her words registered.

And yet still he held fast, a cold resolve falling over his features as his eyes hardened.

The hand at her neck tightened its grip, forcing a pathetic whimper to tumble from her lips as he suddenly threw her to the floor.  A heaving gasp was the only sound to leave her, only just realizing how her lungs had burned with the need for air.  Her head swam, the floor beneath her seeming to tilt and sway as she attempted to regain her bearings.

But before she could even push herself up onto her knees, the unmistakable rasp of a drawn blade filled the eerie quiet.

Addilyn went rigid, her every muscle pulled taut as she slowly shifted her attention back up toward Lemuel.  He loomed over her, sword in hand and poised to strike.  It hovered mere inches from her neck, as if he had abruptly stopped mid-swing.  She stared up at him, her breathing coming in short, quiet gasps.

If he expected her to beg, to plead for her life, he would be sorely disappointed.

Lemuel stood motionless, silent, his breathing deep and even as he leveled the tip of the blade with her chin.  The steel was cold enough to burn against the warmth of her skin, even at just the slightest touch of its sharpened edge.  Darkly, she couldn’t help but wonder which sword he had drawn.  Was it Ataret that would send her to her next life?  Or was it Kossaul?

That familiar, black dread pooled within her belly, twisting at her gut until she thought she might vomit.  But even as her arms shook and her mouth ran dry, she didn’t look away, her gaze locked with his.  If he was so sure that the world must be rid of Addilyn Theron, then he could damn well look her in the eye as he bled her dry.

When he finally moved, it was sudden and without warning, a furious roar piercing the air as he reared back to strike her down—

—only to then throw down his sword, the blade hitting the floor with a cacophonous clatter.

Addilyn flinched, scrambling back from him as he turned away from her, his head in his hands.

“Go,” Lemuel rasped, his voice small.  Mournful.  Anguished.  “Go, before they find you here.”

Addilyn simply gaped up at him, disbelieving.  Still her hands shook, bile churning within her gut as terror's grip slowly began to fade.  “Lem–”

“Go!” he shouted, his voice like thunder. 

Addilyn didn’t dare to challenge him a second time, pushing herself to her feet as she grabbed for her satchel.  She rushed for the door, colliding with the overturned table in her haste to flee—and as she crossed the threshold, a tentative freedom within her grasp, Lemuel’s parting words called to her, following her out of the building and onto the gray, rain slicked street.

Riven Arnor

Is it the "manic pixie dream girl" or the "she did nothing wrong uwu" accusations I hate the most? Or would it be watching female fans who hate women lambasting her because she wasn't immediately understanding and forgiving of the hot male characters? Would I have to grit my teeth because her showing emotion about her pain is "too weak, make her a femme fatale instead"? Would people write her as overly childish and tomboyish and ignore her feminine side? Would they think Riven's "not like other girls"? I can't even think about how her internalized racism toward drow would be perceived (maybe a baby would fix it—not if I kill myself first). Would they ignore that she started teaching herself how to be sneaky and got into impulsive fights and stole stuff for the thrill of it before Delethil, oooorr would they attribute all her bad behavior to him? These are the things that keep me up at night.

Delethil Aismere

Oh, this is easy. They'll say he's a groomer who stole all of Riven's agency before she could formulate who she was. Never mind that her crush on him was one-sided for a loooong time (and tempered with suspicion) before her feelings matured into something more substantial through trust and genuine friendship. (Never mind how long their friendship was before Del caught genuine feelings, too, and even then, even after he suspected how she felt for him, he chose not to take advantage and act on their mutual pining and worse.) And of course, there's the bunch that will ignore their friendship entirely and believe he is never genuine and is always using her. I suspect all accusations of manipulation won't ever come up between him and Eravin. Somehow, Eravin will not need infantilizing or deserve protection from this nasty man. But just as there would be people who can't accept that someone as cutthroat and nasty as Delethil can also have a soft spot for his people, I suspect there are many more who would decide he's yet another thief with a hidden heart of gold. Just gotta smooth down all these edges right fast, and soon, he'll be a regular Han Solo. At least I'm safe from anyone ever claiming he's a shadow daddy.

Erosen the Steadfast

This might be where I start throwing hands because I just know Erosen would be seen as a controlling and abusive parent, and no amount of reconciliation between him and Riven would be enough to forgive him. He'll be blamed more than Avenzi ever would be because parents aren't allowed to make mistakes or be in over their heads without any support. And this hurts me deeply, because part of my inspiration for writing Erosen the way I did was because I got tired of seeing the too-perfect sitcom parents, the absent/oblivious/dead parents, or the irredeemably evil parents in media. I wanted to explore a strained relationship between parent and adult child and see what it would take for them to finally understand each other and address their hurts, and a big part of the solution was for the parent to just try. Try and get past the fear that's causing them to make their decisions and remember that love and trust are stronger together.

Celeste Fontaine

Favorite thing about them: I'm going to be incredibly non-specific and say that her growth as a character was my favorite part of playing her. She started out as this uptight, dutiful monk who was scared to show her own face too much for fear of making people mildly uncomfortable (and honestly to avoid invasive questions) to someone who was finally getting comfortable with who they were was such a blast. I love her newly-acquired confidence and the dynamic it brings to her post-campaign. She's far from perfect, and never will be, but she's maturing and making a new purpose for herself other than being someone's errand girl.

Least favorite thing about them: She is the worst pessimist in the world and sometimes her logic is so quick to jump to the worst conclusions that she literally puts her foot in her mouth. And it hurts for me to write that every single time due to secondhand embarrassment but I have to commit.

Favorite line: "She loved you! She still loves you!" at the Prince during the final fight while she's trying to distract him (or something like that). Or Ori's first jab at Damak "Maybe you would see more of it if you stepped out of the shadows" since it still makes me chuckle.

brOTP: Even though the Ori/Damak ship didn't sail, I still think they probably stay pretty close and end up working together on jobs in the future. They absolutely still push each other's buttons, but that's just how they are and they don't question it.

OTP: I am so mad at myself retroactively for not giving into the OriRanna feels by the conclusion of the campaign but I do not regret bringing it up afterwards and getting to enjoy it now at least.

nOTP: Ori and Cobalt are forever divorced and they barely know each other, this is just canon.

Random Headcanon: Ori has a hard time accepting the fact that Sharaea is basically keeping her distance after the Prince's defeat. In part because she does feel that connection still and worries that Sharaea is hurting, and partially because it is such a strange sensation to her to be without the dreams for so long after such a major revelation. It takes her a long time to get used to it, but she still wishes that there was more she could do.

Unpopular Opinion: I don't know if it's an unpopular opinion among our little group, but I never had intentions of making Oriana some kind of fated hero. I never had thoughts of making her tied to a major NPC or giving her any kind of serious destiny, I just wanted to play a radiant energy bomb with the aasimar/monk combo because I thought it would be funny once I pitched the idea to Sam and he told me about Damak who was basically her foil. But I do adore how her story developed and how well it ended up narratively.

Song I associate with them: So many... "Like the Dawn" by The Oh Hellos, "Warrior" by AURORA, and "Drumming Song" by Florence + The Machine to name a few.

Favorite picture of them: I like a lot but honestly one of my favs is the one I made of Chibs trying to hit on her, partly because it's Chibs and partly because I did really like how Ori's outfit came out in this one.

Mela —

Favorite thing about them: Literally the most wholesome member of the group. Not a bad bone or crystal in her body. I am so sorry for all that we put her though.

Least favorite thing about them: Only that I didn't get enough time to learn more about her and her backstory. Sigh.

Favorite line: "Real neighbors. Real family. Not just people that make you feel like you can pretend it doesn't exist."

brOTP: Mela and Halion. Druid buddies that deserve the world.

OTP: Mela is an independent Genasi who don't need no one... though I could be swayed about a certain fae...

nOTP: Literally anyone who would try to be mean to her in a relationship will meet a swift end by my hand.

Random Headcanon: 100% think that Mela's magic is flavored to look like the crystals on her body. If she wildshapes and doesn't specifically want to look a certain way, the animal she changes into will have things like crystal horns/claws, the flame sword she summons has the appearance of a crystal blade, etc.

Unpopular Opinion: I do wish she had gotten a chance to use wild shape more. I think Mela being a cute little critter sneaking around would have been amazing.

Song I associate with them: "Come Out and Play" by Billie Eilish

Favorite picture of them: That dang sketch I never colored, rip

Vaela —

Favorite thing about them: Drinking game QUEEN. Also just the fact that she doesn't take any shit while still having a lot of heart and empathy to those who earn it. Something about that balance between the two just made her all the more lovable.

Least favorite thing about them: she can out-drink my high constituion monk I do think I missed out on really getting to know her during the campaign, and I regret that a lot.

Favorite line: Not a specific line but I think back to Vaela's talks with Erosen when he was ready and willing to be her stand-in dad before Vaela was ready to reach back out to her family and i can't help but smile.

brOTP: Vaela, Riven, and Mela is the real brot3 and nothing can change my mine

OTP: I mean... I definitely have a certain paladin that turns a lovely shade of pink when someone talks about her because she sure is pretty and really cool to boot~

nOTP: Zaresh and his memory is not allowed to ever hurt Vaela again. If Damak didn't do it, Ori would have definitely put him out of his misery.

Random Headcanon: Very little thing, but I could see her gathering small, light trinkets that remind her of her friends and tie them to her bow, possibly for good luck, and possibly as a way to to tell which direction the wind is blowing when she's aiming.

Unpopular Opinion: I still think it would have been cool for her to pull an Erosen and punch Zaresh in the face. Just once.

Song I associate with them: "Dear Fellow Traveler" by Sea Wolf

Favorite picture of them: So fun fact: I never finished them but I started making emojis of the party members for kicks and here's the one I started of Vaela:

Riven —

Favorite thing about them: Riven's sassiness and perfect comedic timing always leaves me in stitches. She really felt like the heart of the party in that way.

Least favorite thing about them: This is the hardest thing and most of my "least favorite" things are mostly the things Oriana keeps fretting about when she thinks about Riven being in such a high position so I'm gonna go with not much at this time to be honest.

Favorite line: Not a line again, but specifically the scene between Ori and Riven where Riv dressed her up while Ori reassured her that she didn't think any less of Riven after they all found out about her half-drow heritage. That always felt like a major point in their friendship and I hold onto it fondly.

brOTP: I wanna say Riven and Halion just because I think their friendship was so neat, and it hurts a bit when I think about their falling out post-campaign. But there's also Riv and Damak's sibling-ish dynamic that I love a lot, too.

OTP: As much as he pushes Ori's nerves, I do think Riv and Delethil are on the same wavelength as each other and fit very well together, even with Eravin in the mix.

nOTP: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Random Headcanon: On the occasions where Oriana comes up to Aerenth on business (either with Ranna for her research or at the request of various Tyados officials who think she's got some kind of in with them because she's friends with Riven), Ori always makes a point to find Riven and any of the other girls that might be there with them after all the formalities are done and run off into the woods to find a clearing to just hang out in like they did before.

Unpopular Opinion: As much as I understand the reason why she and Del made the choice to execute Vasion, I still disagree that it was the best decision.

Song I associate with them: "Savage Daughter" by Sarah Hester mostly because of the rebellious vibes

Favorite picture of them: I mean... I think it's obvious (also bonus Vaela).